After many months of comparing
different Drill/Mills I decided to purchase from "Enco."
It was very difficult to buy something like this when I couldn't see it
first. I could only compare what was published in the catalogs. The brands
and models I compared were Enco 16-3/8", Grizzly G1006, Precise ZX-280,
Central Machinery 33686-4VGA, Jet JMD-15, and Rong-Fu SRF-30. My main reasons
for choosing Enco were price, free delivery, the included stand (in the
price range), and a free tooling package. The Grizzly came in a close second.To
the right is the shipping crate of my Drill/Mill waiting to be opened.

<------------Here is the free
stand that came with my purchase. Only the Drill/Mill came put together.

I was happy to see it had a nice paint job. ----------------->
One worry I had was the machine arriving with rust spots on it. I'm happy
to say it has no rust.

<----- Here is the stand that
came with it for the price I paid. Note: If you plan to add ball screws
to your machine, cut an opening in the top so you can get under the mill
from inside the cabinet.

The head needed to be removed ---> before
this beast could be lifted onto the stand. I needed help to do this.

<-------It took two people to
lift this base and column onto the stand. After it was in place, that night
someone from the CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO list said to cut a hole through the stand
to get to the y-axis screw. I wish I had done that before it was on the
stand.

Here is the free tooling package I got with the
mill. Cheap vise but I don't plan to use it for milling. Nice clamping kit
and drill chuck.

<--------Here is the Drill/Mill
completely on its stand. I had two very strong guys lift the head up on
the column. Once the Drill/Mill was on the stand, the top of the column
was over 6 feet high. The next step is to fit ball screws on it.